Keepers of the Accord
The Keepers of the Accord are a Loyalist Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes shrouded in mystery and symbolism, thus worthy successors of the Dark Angels and their Primarch Lion El'Jonson. Presumably - like their forebears and brother Chapters - the Keepers are part of the Unforgiven, the brotherhood of Chapters that hunt the Fallen Angels. However, they are distant from their fellow Unforgiven, not because of a grudge or spite, but because of their creation. The Keepers of the Accord's exact Founding is unknown or forgotten, but they were founded on the order of the High Lords of Terra both as a political move and a strategic one. In return for the creation of the Keepers, the Dark Angels' behavior would be overlooked for a time. The other side to the Chapter's birth is mired in classification and mystery. What is known is that the Keepers have always stood vigil over a wandering planetoid named "Thessalon" from a great space station acting as their Fortress Monastery, the Caelestis Castellum. The Keepers of the Accord maintains a rather high number of Techmarines among their ranks, and thus have an impressive quantity of Land Raider patterns in their Armory. Chapter History The Keepers of the Accord are rarely seen by other Imperial forces with the Unforgiven Chapters seeing them the most frequently, but at their summits to hunt the Fallen, the Keepers only bring one or two companies of Battle-Brothers. Not that they have a distaste for others, indeed, those that have met a Keeper in person recall them being cordial and respectful but guarded with their words. Only, when other Imperial vessels approach their Fortress Monastery unbidden are given a single chance to withdraw before being fired upon. It would seem the only outsiders readily welcome are vessels of the Adeptus Mechanicus, whose occupants disappear into the depths of the planetoid the Caelestis Castellum follows. While the Keepers focus on the defense of their Monastery and the strange Thessalon, they retain an ample service record of victories as any true Space Marine Chapter would, though few outsiders have heard of their accomplishments. Eldar pirates, Ork hordes, and Chaos fleets have been routed by the impressive firepower the Caelestis Castellum itself holds, not to mention the Keepers of the Accord's experience in void-borne combat. Recently however, under the leadership of Grand Master Erathaol, the Keepers of the Accord have begun to reach out and provide relief and deliver the Emperor's wrath. And when companies leave the Chapter's fleet, it remains on high alert until they return. Currently the Chapter's fleet has tracked to the Ghoul Stars region of Segmentum Ultima, where they guard Thessalon amidst the numerous Dead Worlds of the region. Thessalon The unassuming exterior of the planetoid Thessalon is the greatest shroud to the great secret that the Keepers of the Accord guard. Though no outsider has ever known the truth, Thessalon is actually an artificial construct of the Dark Age of Technology. It was discovered at some point after the Horus Heresy by an Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator team after it drifted into Imperial space from beyond the galaxy's edge. It has been very difficult to discern who created Thessalon, but what was discovered was that it has been inactive for millennia and that its purpose and function is the absorption of stars and planets as raw material and energy to fashion battle-ready fleets of autonomous vessels. But damning it to tech-heresy is the fact Thessalon's directive is maintained by an artificial intelligence, presumably the same intelligence coordinating the finished fleets the installation produces. However the intelligence appears in hibernation as Thessalon is in active. Naturally, the Imperium immediately moved to destroy Thessalon for its abhorrent intelligence and heretical nature. The Adeptus Mechanicus took heavy weapons into the construct's winding inner hallways and chasms to obliterate the core systems. Alas, even in its slumbering state, any damage to the installation was almost immediately repaired, and Thessalon's insides shifted under the attack, with panels carrying vital systems being sped away from the intruders. Worse still, no central chamber for Thessalon's power or command center was discovered, so the Adeptus Mechanicus retreated and reported the situation. The High Lords of Terra responded by assigning an entire Astartes Chapter to protect Thessalon while the Adeptus Mechanicus works to understand and find a way to decommission the installation permanently. This is the source of the Keepers of the Accord's number of techmarines, to help deal with their duty to shield the Imperium against this grave heresy. For if Thessalon were to fully activate it could cause untold damage with its fleets and drain resources that belonged only to Mankind. Thus the current mission of the Keepers of the Accord is to find a solution to disable Thessalon from ever becoming active and to prevent anyone from bring the slumbering leviathan from awakening. Fortress-Monastery The Caelestis Castellum, or the "Celestial Castle" in Low Gothic, is the spiritual and martial stronghold of the Keepers of the Accord Chapter. A monastery in the form of a mighty space station, it was gifted to the Chapter by the High Lords to aid in the containment and defense of Thessalon. The Castellum houses enough firepower to eradicate nearly any ship that engages it, to say nothing of the Chapter Fleet surrounding it. Statues and effigies of angelic figures line the Monastery's hull, their shadowed cowls staring eternally outward into the uncaring void. Over time, the Keepers have integrated such iconography and symbolism of the I Legion into the Castellum to honor their forebears, even if it is ignored by the Dark Angels themselves. Chapter Organisation Officer Ranks Specialist Ranks Line Ranks Specialist Formations Order of Battle Chapter Command Companies Chapter Culture The Keepers of the Accord are monastic in nature, valuing wisdom and patience in tandem with martial prowess, much like their brother Chapter the Guardians of the Covenant. Battle-Brothers are very much encouraged to study the Chapter's extensive libraries on Imperial records detailing the Imperium's enemies, both alien and heretical. The Keepers also make a point to study any weapon they come across produced by the Imperium, whether ancient or unspeakably rare. Hidden in the Armory are stores of collected weaponry that serve as the objects of study and examination by neophytes and Techmarines, to learn of their capabilities and faults. But it is forbidden to take an item from these stores to battle due to their nigh-irreplaceable value, unless it is necessary and possible to forge a duplicate. Despite the Keepers' high number of Techmarines and the seeming alliance they have with the Mechanicum, the Battle-Brothers do not give praise to the Omnissiah, but save their blessings for the Emperor and the Lion instead. Chapter Combat Doctrine Like all Dark Angel successor Chapters, the Keepers of the Accord are partially Codex Compliant with the 1st and 2nd Companies being elite formations named the Ironwing and Talonwing respectively. Due to the size of the Chapter's armory, the 1st Company has an envious number of Land Raiders and Dreadnoughts for the Terminators of the Ironwing to make use of to demolish an enemy. For the rest of the battleline Companies, they are the most experienced with defense for obvious reasons, but are constantly drilled in numerous other attack plans, but rarely are given the true opportunity. When attacking, the Keepers of the Accord usually use overwhelming force and armored assaults. Chapter Gene-Seed As successors of the Dark Angels, the Keepers of the Accord are bearers of one of the most pure gene-stocks in the Imperium but also inheritors of its defects. While mutations are virtually unheard of, all Chapters borne of the 1st Legion are possessed of a dark and secretive nature and prone to despising outsiders. It is largely unknown the extent to which this affects the Keepers and where the dogma of their culture and mission is to blame. Notable Members Master Rostiello '''- A calculating and dignified soul, Rostiello is the Keepers of the Accord's current Master of the Arsenal and thus marshal of the Chapter's impressive armory. The Chaplaincy has praised Rostiello for wielding the wisdom of knowing when to obliterate in a tremendous show of force and when to hold the Chapter's prized relics from unnecessary danger. Currently, Rostiello and the 3rd Company are on a crusade into the Ghoul Stars region. '''Master Sorath - Company Master Sorath is a living legend of the Keepers because of his martial prowess and aura of brotherly camaraderie the Space Marine emits when fighting on the battlefield. One of Sorath's greatest accomplishments was his slaying a Chaos Lord of the Emperor's Children Traitor Legion and capturing one of the Fallen Angels all within the same day, using his relic mace to defeat both opponents. Respected among the secret circle within the Chapter and by the rank and file alike, his name forever engraved in the Keepers' roll of honor. Chapter Fleet Chapter Relics Chapter Appearance Chapter Colors The Keepers of the Accord's Power Armor is primarily sable black with dark green shoulder plates and helmets. The aquila or Imperialis on the chestplate and the shoulder trims are silver. The white squad specialty symbol is indicated on the right shoulder guard while Chapter heraldry is displayed on the left. Company heraldry is painted on the left kneepad. Members of the Circle wear pure white robes and those privy to more secrets of the Unforgiven have a dark green embroidery on their robes. Chapter Badge The Keepers of the Accord's Chapter badge is a pair of white stylized double-edged swords running parallel, one pointing left and the other right centered on a field of dark green. Relations Allies Enemies Notable Quotes By the Keepers of the Accord About the Keepers of the Accord Category:Dark Angels Successors Category:Fleet-Based Chapters Category:Imperium Category:Unknown Founding Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Space Marines Category:Graythorne